There isn’t a competition with more eyes glued to it than the battle for the starting STAR role. The New Orleans Saints lost Alontae Taylor in free agency. The prime options were Jonas Sanker, Quincy Riley and Julian Blackmon. Sanker always made the most sense of the trio. As it currently stands, Sanker is the favorite to replace him in that role, and Kellen Moore kind of gave it away before the team took the field.
During the first day of organized team activities available to the media, it was Sanker taking the slot snaps. Riley had been kind of eliminated purely based on roster construction. There's some hope in Martin Emerson, but it was always going to be difficult to put Riley in the slot without a sure thing on the outside.
Blackmon played deep safety along with Justin Reid, while Sanker took snaps at STAR. Moore spoke to the media before practice started, so there wasn't time to question him about this development. In reading between the lines, it certainly sounded like this would be the case. Practice was confirmation.
Kellen Moore may have hinted at Jonas Sanker being first in line without saying much
Moore made sure to remain vague, but two quotes stuck out that suggests Sanker could be first in line at the position.Â
Moore told media "You'll see Jonas there, obviously. You'll see some other safeties there as we go. Certainly, we have some other corners who've played predominantly STAR position in there career." While Moore did mention it was going to be a rotation, only one player was mentioned by name.
When asked a question about Julian Blackmon, Moore spoke highly of his leadership and intelligence. He went on to say "when you put him and Justin Reid back there and you put Jonas back there with those guys." It sounded like a duo of Blackmon and Reid at deep safety and Sanker as a third safety at STAR.
Those quotes were certainly vague and required some listening for what's being said without being said. It may have sounded like grasping at straws if Sanker didn't also get the starting snaps Thursday. That just means he's first in line, but being first in line in a battle can mean a lot.
We'll see if the rotation continues. Last year showed the Saints aren't really ones for smoke screens. They put Kelvin Banks Jr. at left tackle and kept him there. Sometimes a smoke screen could be beneficial, but other times you're just taking reps away from a player. It'd be unwise to jump to a concrete conclusion after a day, but a few weeks of Sanker taking the lion share of first team reps at STAR will show the Saints have found their answer.
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